MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. Russian scientists will participate in an expedition to the northern seas to study changes in the climate and the ice cover in northern latitudes, the expedition’s head, Academician Mikhail Flint told TASS.
"A scientific group of 80 scientists, which I shall lead, will take part in a 36-day expedition to Russian northern seas," he said. "The expedition will begin from the port of Arkhangelsk on August 15."
"We shall cover about 5,000 nautical miles (about 9,260 kilometers - TASS) from the White Sea to the New Siberian Islands in the Laptev Sea," he said, adding the scientists will make complex scientific studies.
First of all, the expedition will focus on the climate changes and will see how the ice cover in the Arctic is changing, the scientist said.
"For example, over the recent 5-7 years, the ice’s southern border in the Kara Sea has moved 500-700 km northwards," he said. "Ice is retreating, and we must understand why."
“It is equally important to see whether the biological productivity of seas in those latitudes has changed,” he continued. “We know that the Barents Sea is famous for rich catches, but at the same time we are unable to explain this exception, I would say noticeable lack of the Siberian seas.”
The expedition will go to the Russian Arctic on board The Akademik Mstislav Keldysh scientific research vessel.